Election 2016
by YowatUp
Summary: It's Election day in the US and this is Star and Marco's first time voting! There is no way something could go wrong. Marco was sure of that! He KNEW it! He and Star would have a great time... Unless... "Star, why are you wearing a MAGA hat?"


**Election 2016**

The Diaz household was uncharacteristically quiet. A boy in tight jeans and a red hoodie slouched on the couch bored to tears. The boy was called Marco Diaz. It was currently November 8, 2016. This was an important day for the USA since it signaled the end of the famous, or infamous (depending on who you ask), 2016 Election. Marco had woken up extremely early so that there wouldn't be such a long line in the voting booths. He was correct in his assessment and had finished voting early. Star, the magic princess from another dimension, and his parents, however, decided to wait until it was extremely late to go and vote. This was his and Star's first time voting. Because of this, he wanted his vote to be meaningful and instead of choosing between the "lesser of two evils", he voted for the third party candidate: Gary Johnson. Marco truly believed Gary was the best choice. He was certainly better than Hillary or Trump. It could be argued that Marco shouldn't have wasted his vote on a third party candidate, but he was confident that Hillary was almost surely going to win, so it didn't matter who he voted for.

As long as it wasn't Donald Trump…

Marco, in his boredom, started to wonder who his parents and Star might have voted for. They never discussed politics and the intrigue was killing him. He figured his parents were most likely to vote for Hillary. They certainly wouldn't have voted for Trump! He also figured they didn't even know there were other candidates aside from the status quo.

As for Star, he didn't know what to expect. Star had always been unpredictable. She was probably going to vote randomly. Marco assumed that Star wasn't interested at all in politics and that she only went to vote because he was voting too.

Marco sighed. He didn't really know how much more time he could withstand being alone. Before Star unexpectedly got into his life, he wouldn't be bored in a situation like this. However, the boy currently longed for Star to return home. He felt his gaze shift to the clock. "_Am I really that desperate?" _He thought.

Suddenly, Marco's parents, Angie and Rafael Diaz, stormed into the house carrying mounts of Hillary merch. Angie Diaz, a brunette shorter than her husband, was wearing an "I'm with her" T-Shirt with a pin that proudly stated "I just voted", while Rafael, a buffed man with dark hair and eyes, just wore a T-shirt with Hillary's face on it.

"We are home!" Rafael called with a thick Mexican accent. He noticed a startled Marco sitting on the couch, "Oh! Mi hijo, Star hasn't returned yet?" Marco shook his head, "What a shame! We wanted to show her what we bought!"

Marco looked towards his parents' hands and noticed they were carrying tons of bags. Fearing the worst, Marco started to make his way into his room. However, he was stopped in his tracks by an overly excited Angie.

"Want to see what we bought?!"

Marco tried to resist, "Well…"

"Great!" Rafael and Angie exclaimed in unison. They were already vigorously taking stuff out of their bags. Marco braced himself…

_10 long minutes later…_

"And this is a Chillary water bottle! Isn't it great?!" Angie proudly proclaimed while holding a normal water bottle that had a small sticker with the word "Chillary" imprinted on it. Marco cringed. He had already seen enough stupid Hillary merch. He really couldn't take it anymore.

Marco tried to change the subject when he noticed they hadn't even scraped the surface of Hillary merch. "Do you think Trump has a chance of winning?" Marco tried his best to sound scared.

It seemed to work since his parents' expressions softened. Rafael walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Fear not, mi hijo! The latest CNN poll said that Hillary had a 90% chance of winning!" It seemed a little too high for Marco and he honestly doubted the veracity of the poll. He was grateful for the topic shift though.

"Yeah!" Angie chimed in, "Trump will get trumped!"

Rafael laughed at his wife's bad joke and added, "Hillary will surely win!"

Marco slumped a little and his parents heard him whisper, "As long as Trump doesn't win…"

"What's wrong Marco?" Rafael asked as his expression softened, "Aren't you happy for a Hillary victory?"

"Well… Not really," Marco confessed as he looked towards the ground, "I didn't even vote for her…"

Rafael and Angie simultaneously asked "Who did you vote for?!"

"I voted for..." Marco took a deep breath before continuing…

"Gary Johnson."

There was a long drawn out silence. Marco had his eyes closed, expecting his parents to scold him. All of a sudden, both his parents burst out laughing. Marco opened his eyes and had a bewildered look.

"What are you laughing about?" Marco asked slightly annoyed.

"You voted for Gary Johnson? Hahahahaha!" Rafael exclaimed, laughing uncontrollably.

"So what? I think he is a very good candidate," Marco huffed and crossed his arms.

"A good candidate? The guy who bit his tongue in the middle of an interview?" Rafael cackled with laughter.

"W-well…" Marco didn't know how to respond. He knew what clip Rafael was talking about. It was an interview in which Gary bit his tongue basically unprompted. Suffice to say it was probably one of the most awkward things that he has witnessed.

"Hey! Marco Where is Aleppo?" Angie teased, referring to an interview where Gary didn't know what Aleppo was.

"What is Aleppo?" Rafael mocked, trying his best to imitate the third party candidate.

"A-at least he was honest!" Marco protested.

Rafael an Angie just continued laughing.

Marco sighed and slumped back on the couch. Chuckling, Rafael and Angie went into their room carrying all their Hillary merch with them.

"It's so unfair," Marco muttered angrily, "if the media covered third party candidates more or the same amount as the main party candidates Gary Johnson would be a lot more popular…"

Marco continued to grumpily mutter to himself in the living room. Just then, he heard the front door being opened.

"Marco," Star's sing song voice rang from the front door, "I'm baaack!"

Marco was taken from his trance-like state by Star's voice. He immediately brightened up and looked towards the open front door. "Hey Star! How did the voting g…"

Marco couldn't finish the sentence. There, in front of the front door, stood Star. Marco was speechless, but not for the usual reason. More often than not Marco found himself gawking at the princess' beauty, which was hypnotizing. Her blonde silky hair, her sapphire eyes, and so on. However, this time, Marco was intently staring at a particular piece of clothing that Star was wearing. It was an article of clothing that Marco would have never thought Star would wear. It was…

"Star?" Marco dreadingly started.

"Yes Marco?" Star asked with a million Watt smile on her face.

"Why are you wearing a MAGA hat?"

Silence.

Maybe she didn't know what it was. Maybe it didn't imply what he thought it implied. She probably knew little to nothing about it or the person who championed the slogan. Yes, that must be it. She must be clueless.

"Oh! Well, I went to vote and someone there was kind enough to sell me one of these." Star gestured to her "Make America Great Again" hat.

"And who did you vote for?" Marco inquired, internally filled with foreboding.

"Why? For Donald Trump obviously!" Star cheerfully declared.

That was it. She intentionally voted for him and she clearly knows who he is. But there was still an unanswered question…

"Why?" Marco managed to ask, "Why did you vote for him?"

Star didn't seem to notice the worry in Marco's voice. She gleefully skipped towards the couch Marco was at and sat next to him.

"Because he'll make America great again!" She said delightedly, "He'll bring jobs back and stick it to the libtards and SJWs!"

Oh no. It was worse than he imagined, she just said "libtards"! When did this happen? Had she always been that way? Had he just not noticed?

"Are you being serious Star?" Marco asked.

"Well, duh!" Star responded matter-o-factually.

"Really?" Marco was getting extremely worried.

"Is something wrong Marco?" Star asked, finally sensing Marco's concern.

"S-star…" Marco didn't know what to say.

"What is it Marco?" Star asked distressed.

"H-how could you?"

Marco's question was followed by silence. Star didn't know how to answer.

"I don't understand…" Star furrowed her brow, "Have I done something wrong?" she asked.

"_Something wrong? You're kidding, right? You voted for Trump!_" Marco was baffled. How could Star ask that? Scratch that, how could Star vote for Trump in the first place? This made no sense!

"Star!" Marco shouted a bit more forcefully than he intended, "Trump is racist! How could you vote for him?!"

Star's expression was one of disappointment and worry. "Oh no! Not you Marco! You've been brainwashed by the mainstream media too!" she exclaimed. "You should watch less CNN and MSNBC…" she started.

Marco didn't let her finish, "Brainwashed? Star, he called Mexicans rapists and drug-dealers! Nobody altered that!"

Now Star took a defensive stance. "He was being hyperbolic! It's obvious! You're just looking to get offended at something!" she accusingly pointed at Marco.

"What?" Marco asked, "Star, he mocked a disabled reporter! He's not a nice guy!"

"He mocks everyone that way! Trump wasn't mocking that guy for being disabled!" Star screamed while gesticulating wildly.

Marco facepalmed, "Star you're being naive."

"And you're being too sensitive," Star said as she crossed her arms and huffed.

Things had clearly gotten out of hand. Both of them could realize that. However, they didn't know what to do. Neither of them could comprehend the other's position. "_It's common sense!_" they both thought. How the other could not see that, neither could tell. Star and Marco sat at opposite ends of the couch with their arms crossed. Star even huffed as she sat down. They refused to even acknowledge one another. They spent some time silently rummaging through their thoughts to try and sort them out. Suddenly, Marco sighed as he reached a conclusion: they needed to talk it out without getting emotional, with civility.

Marco reached towards Star with a hesitant hand. He smoothly grabbed her shoulder and Star turned her head to him. She sighed and caressed Marco's hand. She looked down as Marco opened his mouth to speak.

"Look, Star," he started, "I didn't mean to get mad at you." Star stayed unresponsive. "It's just… I can't understand why you'd vote for Trump…" Marco felt her tense after that last comment so he quickly added, "So I just want to hear your reasoning. Help me understand."

Star looked back at Marco with a smile. "Okay!" she said. Marco was relieved, it seemed Star was quick to bounce back to her usual bubbly self.

"So…" Marco was unsure of how to start. Star sat there, smiling. Marco cleared his throat and asked, "Why did you vote for Trump?"

Star looked at him oddly. "Marco, I've already told you," she said.

"I know," Marco took a deep breath, "But, could you expand a bit more?"

"Oh! Sure!" Star beamed and sat closer to him, "Hmm…" she put a finger on her chin and looked up deep in thought. From where should she start? Right! "Trump says it like it is!" she claimed, "He's unfiltered, straightforward and he doesn't talk like a typical politician!"

Marco sighed, "I mean, I guess he is more relatable that way… But he just seems unrefined to me. Like, he's said some pretty dumb things…"

"We all say dumb things Marco!"

"But shouldn't we expect more from our politicians? They should be fact-proof! Trump is nowhere near that…"

"So do you prefer Hillary's scripted lying? Huh? Say what you want about Trump, but every time he gets something wrong it's either because he worded it poorly or he was exaggerating. Hillary carefully chooses to lie!"

Marco was stumped. Did he just hear Star make a very smart and good point? He shook his head. Maybe she wasn't as clueless as he thought she was.

"Look, I don't really like Hillary either. However, there are other candidates to vote for apart from her or Trump."

"Pfft. Come on! Jill Stein is loony and Gary Johnson is an idiot!"

Marco ignored the insult directed at the candidate he voted for. He instead said, "You're generalizing too much! You might not like them as people, but what about their policies?"

"You voted for one of them, didn't you?"

"That's irrelevant!"

Star sighed, "Marco, I'll be honest. I don't really know about all of their views, but I can tell you this: I agree with Trump on most, if not all, his major policies."

"Really you're for the wall?!" Marco asked incredulously.

"Well, what did you expect?!" Star stood up, "It's like his main thing!"

"But Star, my parents are Mexican!" Marco kept his distance from the princess.

"But Marco, they're LEGAL!" Star said as she emphasized the last word, "The wall and the tougher immigration policy are meant for illegals crossing the border!"

"He's obviously dog-whistling racism!"

"You should stop listening to so many SJWs…"

"Star! The wall is a white supremacist symbol!"

"What?! That makes no sense at all!" The princess put her hands on her hips, "Every president since Bill Clinton has helped to build parts of a wall at the southern border!"

Marco was unsure of how to respond as he had never heard that fact before. Star had apparently done her research.

"Well… the wall would still be ineffective!" Marco 'retorted', "They would just cross the border wall with ladders!"

"You're moving the goalpost," Star said as she narrowed her eyes.

Marco showed shock. "How do you even know what that is?"

Star crossed her arms haughtily, "Really Marco, how dumb do you think I am?"

Though she outwardly showed annoyance, Star was internally euphoric. So all that YouTube binge-watching had paid off! She could not only match Marco in argumentation, she had managed to throw him off! Twice! This was going wonderfully for Star. It appeared as though Marco had been too overconfident and hadn't done REALLY deep research. Due to his initial disdain for Trump he probably hadn't bothered to look at Trump supporters' points. Star had the upper hand as she had been forced to hear anti-Trump views on a regular basis. Even if she had wanted to escape it, mainstream articles kept popping up calling Trump a: "racist", "sexist", "bigot", "man-child", "narcissist", "liar", "racist", "islamophobe", "rude", "disgusting", "racist", "dumb", "racist", "RACIST", among other things. She had heard those criticisms so many times that she had developed strong counter-points to each of them. She had, let's say, 'borrowed' some arguments from figures like Ben Shapiro (so smart!), Steven Crowder (so funny!) and 'Sargon of Akkad' or Carl Benjamin (so intellectual-ly! Wait, isn't that kind of like smart?). Many thanks to them for (unintentionally and indirectly) helping Star wreck Marco with FACTS and LOGIC! Oh! How many times had she dreamt of being in such a situation?

To be honest though, there was one person that had really inspired her and that she hadn't thanked yet. She was somewhat afraid of unconsciously bringing him up, considering how controversial he was…

Anyway, back with Star and Marco's _"conversation"._

"You should really watch this video Star," Marco stated as he handed his phone to her. It was an "Adam Ruins Everything" video. Needless to say Star was already cringing. "It will show you why you're wrong about the wall," Marco continued with confidence.

Star threw the phone back at the Latino boy while dismissively saying, "Already seen it. Jeez Marco, one would think you couldn't argue. Why show me a video when you can debate with me?" Star was beginning to get under Marco's skin. "Oh well! Since we are on the topic of having videos argue for us," Star started as she skidded towards Marco, "You should watch this Rebuttal to that Adam video!" she said as she handed her phone to Marco.

The screen showed a paused Steven Crowder video. Marco knew about the guy and was less than thrilled by the fact Star had just recommended one of his videos.

"Star, are you really suggesting I watch a video from that political hack?" He asked seething with rage.

"Political hack?" Star inquired, "He's actually quite nuanced…"

Marco looked amused, "Seriously? Do you really believe that?"

"_Why's he being so condescending?_" Star internally wondered, feeling anger rise inside of her.

"I can see why you voted for Trump now," Marco said with a self-satisfied smirk while nodding his head, "I shouldn't have let you surf the internet unchecked."

Star stopped herself from screaming, "_Asshole!_" Did he think she was a child? That she couldn't decide for herself?

The Latino boy remained unaware of Star's growing irritation. He believed he had figured out the problem. Two months ago Marco had introduced Star to the wonders of the internet, more precisely YouTube. He'd figured she would only use YouTube to see cat videos or what not, but apparently he had been wrong. That damned YouTube algorithm must have introduced her to this disingenuous individual! She must have stumbled upon some neck-bearded YouTube skeptic and she must have ended up in Steven Crowder's (a conservative buffoon!) channel. Star was now a prime example of falling down the Anti-SJW hole. Marco was at least relieved that she was using a Crowder video, which meant she hadn't reached "far-right" circles. You know, since the "far-right" and conservatives don't really like each other. Marco didn't know how he would have reacted if Star had pulled out a Richard Spencer video. Steven Crowder, however, he could work with.

"Star," Marco began, "You need to understand that not everyone on the internet is a trustworthy individual. There's a great deal of evil-doers and con-artists that will misrepresent things to manipulate you and get you on their side," Marco continued self-righteously as Star grew increasingly mad, "I know you might find it hard to understand, but people like Steven Crowder aren't trustworthy. People like him have an agenda, they'll manipulate you."

Star was using all of her willpower to stop herself from slapping Marco right then and there. She really liked the young Latino boy, but, right now, he was acting like a douchebag. Of course Crowder had an agenda! She knew that! However, after carefully considering each point of view, she decided that Crowder was mostly on the right. That was her opinion! Marco should at least respect that! Plus, he was obviously wrong on this issue… but that's for later. Right now, she needed to endure his "enlightened" monologue.

"To be fair you have to have a very high IQ to understand YouTube politics," Marco continued rambling, "Some 'Centrists' are actually right-wing. You see, moderation is a delusion people invent to describe themselves," Star rolled her eyes as Marco went on, "If one half of people want to kill babies and the other half want no babies killed, a 'Moderate' would kill 50% of the babies," and on, "There is no 'Moderation' between 'correct' and 'incorrect'," and on, "Contra Points and HBomerguy are better, more rational YouTubers and you should watch them instead of these 'enlightened centrists' that are actually just 'alt-lite'," and on, "Really, I mean, I'm a Libertarian and on social issues they hit the nail on the hea

"ENOUGH ALREADY!" Star shouted.

Marco stopped, mouth open. He looked at the fuming Star confused. Why was she so angry? Was it something he said?

"I have a political opinion that I built on my own! If you have a problem with that, then you can go fu…" just then gunshots were heard, silencing whatever insults came from the princess' mouth. It seemed the Morrisons were practicing their gun-firing. Marco, who was usually bothered by his neighbors' loud and (in his eyes) backwards activity, was now thankful for the Morrison's great timing as he missed the onslaught of insults a foul-mouthed Star threw at him.

The gunshots eventually ceased. Star was red-faced and heavily breathing, her barrage of insults over.

Silence enveloped the room. Marco was speechless. What was he supposed to say after that outburst?

Star straightened up and crossed her arms. She looked at Marco with just annoyance since she wasn't as mad as she was before. Marco squirmed under her gaze, now feeling self-conscious for his cringe-worthy monologue.

"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" The princess asked with disdain.

Marco started fidgeting.

Star snorted and made her way up the stairs. "I'm going to my room now," she announced, not even sparing a look towards the Latino boy, "Alex Jones must be live streaming right about now…" she mumbled just loud enough for Marco to hear.

"Alex Jones?" Marco wondered if he had heard correctly, "You don't listen to Alex Jones, right Star?"

"_Shit!_" Star thought, "_He knows now!_" Taking a deep breath, Star decided not to hide her opinions and said, "So what if I do?"

Marco looked at her quizzically, "You don't take him seriously do you? You CAN'T take him seriously," Marco stated with conviction.

"I find his input valuable," Star answered faking haughtiness.

"Star! This is ridiculous! He's a rambling conspiracy nut," Marco argued exasperated.

"I like to listen to him and that's that," Star said fed up. She then continued the way to her bedroom.

"Come on! Star, you can't be this dumb!" Marco shouted on impulse, not thinking his words through.

Star stopped and looked back at the boy. She said, "So I'm dumb, huh? Is that it Marco?"

Marco was at a loss for words as he was just realizing what he had said.

Tears threatened to come out from the princess' eyes. She had been hurt. _Deeply_. Sniffing she turned around, facing upstairs and declared, "I'm going to my room."

"Wait! Sta-"

Marco couldn't finish as Star said, "Just leave me alone, Marco."

Star disappeared into her room, leaving behind a guilt-ridden Marco.

The Diaz household had devolved into silence.

It was night time now. Marco's parents hadn't come out from their room since they had arrived (Lord knows what they had been doing there) and Star had locked herself up in her Magic Tower room. Marco himself lay on his bed facing the ceiling. He was bummed out. Having all this time to reflect on his actions, the Latino boy thought that he might have been just a bit too harsh on Star for her political opinions. Well, actually, he was too harsh. Unnecessarily harsh. Marco didn't want the gleeful princess to feel hurt, especially because of his fault. No matter her political opinions, she didn't deserve to be treated as dumb.

"_Gosh,"_ Marco thought, "_I'm the dumb one."_

He sat on the edge of his bed and reflected on what he should do. He definitely needed to apologize. That was certain. The question was whether he should apologize immediately or if he could wait until the next day. Marco looked over to the red alarm clock at the side of his bed. It signaled it was 2:00 a.m. He couldn't just wait for the next day. Had he really lay awake for so long thinking about Star? Well, nothing could be done about that anymore so he might as well just get on with it.

Marco sighed and got up from his bed.

As he made his way towards Star's room, his heartbeat skyrocketed. He didn't know if he could face the princess after everything he had said to her. Maybe he should wait for her to come out? He was now in front of her room's door. He had a moment of hesitation as he reached to knock. Yet, Marco took a deep breath and mustered courage.

He knocked three times.

"Star?" He asked in a low voice.

There was no response.

Marco knocked again, more urgently this time.

He suddenly heard rustling from inside the room. The sound of footsteps approaching the door resonated from within. The knob jiggled and the door creaked as it slowly opened, revealing a tired Star. Her blonde hair was unkempt and her gaze was downcast. It seemed that the argument from earlier had really gotten to her. Marco's sense of guilt doubled.

However, unbeknownst to the young boy, Star had actually blamed herself for the falling out between the two earlier. Although she was angry at Marco for being dismissive about her opinions, she felt that her outburst might have been just a bit too forceful. Well, actually, it was too forceful. Unnecessarily forceful. She really didn't want to fight with Marco, but her hard-headedness made her stay locked up in her room. She wanted to make amends and, though the most rational part of her brain assumed (correctly) that Marco wanted to do too, she still couldn't make the first move. Even as Marco stood before her, with an apologetic smile and with clear intentions of talking things out, she was still ashamed. She couldn't even look him in the eye.

With clear tension in the air, Star and Marco stood in silence for a solid minute, both unsure of how to start.

Eventually, Star moved to a side inviting Marco into her room, her eyes never looking directly at him. Marco silently entered and looked around. The place was a mess. Many of Star's attires littered the room, scattered about. Her bed was undone and a laptop lay atop of it. The laptop was slightly tilted to the side, which allowed Marco to catch a glimpse of what Star had been watching. Unsurprisingly, it was Election Night coverage, though it wasn't (as he had expected) from Alex Jones. Instead, it was from some news anchor (most likely Fox News). Marco felt a tinge of guilt pulling from inside him as he felt responsible for Star's choice of news source. He didn't want her to feel ashamed of what she liked…

_But she likes Alex Jones…_

Marco shook his head. He was there to apologize and talk things out. He wasn't about to stir up any more drama.

Star sat on top of the bed, facing the laptop. She looked at it with disinterest as she still wasn't able to look at Marco. Marco sat on the edge of the bed and looked towards the floor while awkwardly rubbing his head. Another uncomfortable silence enveloped both teenagers. The voices of the Fox News anchors were drowned by the fury of thoughts that plagued Star and Marco.

Suddenly, Star broke the unwanted silence.

"You know," she started in a whisper that was just loud enough for Marco to hear, "Trump might not win…"

Marco blinked. Was this what she wanted to talk about?

"I mean, you probably think it's ridiculous to even think that he _could_ win," Star said dejectedly, "But I had this hope that maybe, just maybe he'd win all the impossible states and really shake Washington up…"

"Well," Marco said trying to sound comforting, "The race is pretty tied…"

"Don't sugar-code it, Marco," Star warned while glaring at him, "I know what the polls say. Nobody REALLY believes that Trump will win. Heck! I don't even think Trump believes he'll win at this point!"

Marco sighed. So this was it? She was just suffering from admission of loss?

"It's stupid but…" Star looked down, "I feel so powerless…"

"Star," Marco reached towards the princess, "It is normal for people to feel that way. We don't always win. You've got to understand that. What matters isn't constantly winning, but instead feeling right with what you did."

"But, what's the point of everything that's happened up to this point?" Star hopped out of the bed and started pacing around the room, "All the enthusiasm, all those promises, was it all for nothing?"

"Star," Marco shook his head, "Do you really think all of this will go unheard?"

"Huh?" Star turned towards Marco.

"I mean, look where you've gotten. This is literally the final lap. Just Trump getting the nomination was enough to shake up the Washington establishment. They can't ignore what's happened this year. The demands of the people will just get louder and louder if nothing is done about them. Trump might not win the election, but what he stands for might just outlive him."

"I mean, yeah, I guess," Star said shrugging her shoulders, "But, like, we were supposed to 'meme Trump into the presidency' and all that…"

"Well, you managed to meme him into the Republican nomination. That's quite a feat, isn't it?"

"I guess…" Star said dejectedly.

Marco just sighed. He wanted to get to the reason why he was here in the first place. He muted the Fox News coverage, as it was starting to get annoying and neither of them was listening to it either way.

"Hey!" Star complained, "I was listening to that"

"Listen Star," Marco looked at her, "I am sorry."

"Huh?"

"I am sorry for getting mad at you before," he said apologetically, "I shouldn't have called you 'dumb'. You're not dumb. It was really stupid on my part to do that."

"Marco…" Star's expression softened.

"I shouldn't have gotten so riled up, but I guess that's what politics does to people. It makes us emotional and tribal. I always thought I was only rational… It turns out I was wrong…" he said with his face downcast.

"Marco," Star walked toward him and placed her hand on his shoulder, "Don't be so rough on yourself. I screwed up too. I got so caught up in trying to win our discussion, I forgot you're my BFF."

"Star…" Marco said as he looked at her.

They both stared into each other's eyes in a surprisingly comfortable silence. Neither felt the need to formalize in words what they already knew: both were forgiven. They inched closer and hugged each other.

It was in this state that Marco said, "Star, I promise to make an effort from now on to try and understand you better. No matter who wins tonight, the sun will come out tomorrow. Even if you think Hillary is the worst candidate ever, she will not destroy the country and we should hope she does well. We're all in this together."

"Yeah," Star nodded in understanding, "You're right. I guess I'll have to take the loss for now, but that's alright. I have you, and that's more important than however many Trumps you want to throw at me."

Their faces were inches apart now. Standing near the edge of the bed, where the laptop was, Marco moved forward with the intent of kissing the princess. Caught off guard, Star fell on top of the laptop, conveniently unmuting it.

"The results are in…" The Fox News anchor began.

Star immediately looked at the screen, completely ignoring Marco. Embarrassed for the failure of his attempt at kissing Star, Marco was grateful for her change in attention. He looked at the screen with disinterest, already knowing what the results would be.

"We are going to make this decision now," the anchor said, "the Fox News decision desk has called Pennsylvania for Donald Trump…" the Fox News host then straightened and uttered, "This means that Donald Trump will be the 45th President of the United States…"

The anchor continued on but nobody was listening anymore.

Marco couldn't process what he had just heard. It couldn't be true! Could it? Was it really true? No! No way! The polls gave Hillary a 90% chance of winning! It might've been a bit off, but it couldn't be completely wrong! Fox News must be lying, that's the only explanation! Trump couldn't win? Could he? He couldn't! Right? RIGHT?

_Right_…?

Star, meanwhile, had the biggest smile on her face. Her pupils shrank due to excitement and she started hyperventilating. She was overjoyed, over the moon. He did it! The madman had actually done it! Against all odds! With the media and the politicians and Hollywood and Talk-show hosts and EVERYONE against him, he won! He actually won!

"Trump won!" she shouted in euphoria, "Marco! He won!"

Marco didn't respond. His head was still processing everything that was going on. Star in her state of ecstasy, grabbed Marco's cheeks and turned his face away from the laptop and towards her face. She suddenly leaned in (quite roughly) and _passionately_ kissed Marco until both were out of breath. She pulled back to inhale deeply. She then let go of Marco and pounced on the laptop to browse through Twitter and YouTube.

Marco meanwhile fell on the bed like a ragdoll. He wasn't thinking straight. "_Star just… kissed me?"_ He thought, "_Wait, TRUMP WON?!"_

He really couldn't believe Trump had just become the 45th president of the US. A reality TV star, New York real estate agent, hotel builder, misogynist, racist, ORANGE buffoon was president! It was unfathomable. Unthinkable. Ridiculous. Insane. Nuts. Unrea-

Marco continued to list adjectives relating to craziness in silent frustration. Meanwhile Star was done browsing the internet and she was now doing a small victory dance across her room. Any sense of humbling that could have come from her conversation with Marco earlier was now completely gone. Trump had won. She had won. Why should she let that live down?

Gunshots and cheering were heard coming from outside. It was the Morrisons who had gone to their backyard to celebrate Trump's victory. They were shooting their guns at the sky and chanting "MAGA!"

Stars walked over to her balcony to wave at them and join in their spirit of victory. She was still proudly wearing her MAGA hat so the Morrisons instantly knew she was on their side.

While the princess was busy basking in her victory with the Morrisons, the laptop showed Mike Pence was talking now. Nobody cared about him; everyone was waiting for Trump to come out. The man had overcome impossible odds and had won the tightest election in recent American history. He was definitely the center of attention and he was yet to speak.

Marco was still trying to wrap his head around what just happened. He really believed he was living a fantasy. Maybe it was all just a dream? That must be it! He must've fallen asleep and he was currently dreaming! That would explain Star kissing him and, more importantly, Trump's victory. It was just so out of the realm of possibility that it had to be fictitious. Marco pinched himself and closed his eyes.

He opened one of his eyes and looked around.

He was still in the same room. Mike Pence was speaking on the laptop.

Marco pinched himself again. Harder this time.

Still, he was in the same place.

Marco pinched himself once more. This time he might have left a bruise on his arm.

Mike Pence was still speaking…

Marco slumped on the bed. His face was devoid of emotion. He looked utterly defeated.

"So let me say," said the Vice-president elect Mike Pence from Star's laptop, "It is my high honor and distinct privilege to introduce to you the President elect of the United States of America Donald Trump."

Cheers erupted from the euphoric supporters in the Trump bunker. The chants of "USA!" were just barely audible because of the loud triumphant music playing in the background. The camera changed from the pale white of mike Pence's face to Trump's (now President-elect Trump) glorious orange tan and majestic golden hair.

Star rushed to Marco's side. She didn't want to miss Trump's victory speech. She was the liveliest she had ever been. Her eyes shined with child-like wonder. Her body was constantly fidgeting, barely containing her excitement.

Trump moved on to the stage, his family and campaign advisors trailing behind him. The smug aura that radiated from them could be felt even through the screen. Trump clapped and thumbs upped his supporters as he walked towards the mike.

Once the clapping had died down and Trump had positioned himself, the big winner of that night delivered his killer line.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Trump said as he opened his arms, "Complicated business…"

The crowd erupted in cheers and so did Star.

Trump went on with his speech. He talked about how Hillary had called him earlier to concede the election and he had gone as far so as to praise Hillary for running a tough campaign (Ha! Try to spin that MEDIA!). Star listened intently to every word he said, basking in the feeling of a shared victory. She could already flavor the Liberal tears that would stream during his inauguration. With how severe of a beating Trump had received in the media, the smug feeling of superiority was quite alluring for Star who couldn't wait to rub Trump's victory in everyone's faces.

Marco wasn't even thinking anymore. His brain had shut off and he had achieved a sort of vegetative state. One could argue that for the moment he was at peace. However, as soon as he recovered from this trance-like state he would be full on Trump hating. The next day he would probably cry about the "incoming apocalypse" or "moving to Canada" or even saying that "the Legislative and the Executive branches have been hijacked by fascists". That is until he forgets about it two days later and only drops back in a rant when the subject is brought up.

Trump's speech eventually ended, much to Star's dismay. Once it was finished, she turned off the laptop and lay down on her bed. Marco was right beside her, still brain dead. She looked towards the ceiling with a smile on her face. Things had certainly taken a turn that was unexpected for both of them. Neither would have guessed it would all turn out this way. It seemed as if the whole world had been put upside-down. It wasn't even clear if they were living in the same world anymore…

Silence enveloped both teens as the sun started lurking on the horizon.

* * *

A/N: So this is something I made...

I understand many people don't like politics being brought up in fictional works, but, in all fairness, from the cover image to the title, it's not as if I was trying to hide the political influence in this fic. If you don't like politics in fanfiction then you really shouldn't have read this in the first place. But, if you liked the work either way, that's great! Honestly, I tried to make this as nuanced as possible and there is no side that is not portrayed in a somewhat negative light.

The only thing I'm not really happy about is the Morrison's gun-firing being so loud that it can drown out the sounds from inside the Diaz's house. I know it is a bit unbelievable, but I just thought it was funny for the Diaz's neighbors to be Trump-supporting Republicans and this was the best way I came up with to show that.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this fic and please Review! Whether you want to criticize or praise, please let your opinion be heard!

See you next time!


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